From Kim Raikes - in response to The Well Whisperer
This was to have been posted in 2015 - well it has chosen its timing and is waking up this space in time for the Seven Year Anniversary Festival. And here she goes thanking Lakshmi while worshiping her sister!
Well the first thing that caught my attention when I read your post, was the word "whisper". We’ve been joking lately that we’ve so often been shouting down wells, waiting for an answer to be shouted back, that I was taken aback by the idea that the well might be whispering.
Then I remembered your Christmas tradition of drawing words from your butter dish, and placing them in the toes of your loved ones’ stockings (not peeking) on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning you discovered that the word you’d placed in your mum’s stocking was “whisper.” And the word in my stocking was “listen.” So for the past couple months, I’ve been listening for the whispers coming from Rajam, and you, since so often she passes her wisdom through you.
I especially love the translation you gave in your post, that a guru is a person you draw from, as from a well, and a shishya is a student, one who draws. I’ve been drawing from you both since the time when I first met Rajam, in Lakshmi’s temple, not far from our hotel in Kolkata. This is how I described that meeting in my journal, May 9, 2008:
“We were a bit shy to actually enter the temple, a smallish open-air room divided down the middle with a rail to separate men and women, who were seated on large, colorful carpets or chairs; and our shyness was all the greater in our awe at the ornamental beauty of the altar, where life-sized figures of Vishnu and Lakshmi presided. Dressed in breath-taking attire—richly designed robes of metallic-threaded silk, gold, silver, lavender, rose—they seemed to shine with a light of their own; and seldom have I felt such an other-worldly presence.
“Wanting to approach them, we still hesitated; but then a wonderful thing happened. Leon sort of began to mingle with the men, who welcomed him; and while I stayed behind, wondering if my plain western attire (no dress) would be acceptable to the beautifully costumed women, an elderly lady suddenly came toward me, took my hand, and drew me into their midst.
“Dressed in a lovely sheer, gossamer-fine lavender saree, she seemed oddly familiar, small, bent, and smiling, with large ears and a wise face; and then, deeply moved, I realized she was Rajam, and that we had at last met.”
Though she never spoke a word to me, she passed her wisdom to me through her welcoming hand, just as she’s whispered it ever since to me through you. This means that she, and you, have been my guru, my teacher, and I have been your shishya, your student. I especially love it that these roles can be inter-changeable, and that when her well begins to run dry, a teacher can draw from what she’s poured into her student, and replenish her resources once again.
So this is my way of whispering my gratitude back to you both. My life changed completely after my meeting with you, there at Lakshmi’s feet in her temple. I’ve learned so much through the legends and insights and stories you’ve shared. I thank you, and Rajam, and Lakshmi herself, for being the well I can draw from when I need to nurture my spirit!
- Kim Raikes
This was to have been posted in 2015 - well it has chosen its timing and is waking up this space in time for the Seven Year Anniversary Festival. And here she goes thanking Lakshmi while worshiping her sister!
A Tiny Well You Can Whisper Your Offerings Into
Well the first thing that caught my attention when I read your post, was the word "whisper". We’ve been joking lately that we’ve so often been shouting down wells, waiting for an answer to be shouted back, that I was taken aback by the idea that the well might be whispering.
Then I remembered your Christmas tradition of drawing words from your butter dish, and placing them in the toes of your loved ones’ stockings (not peeking) on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning you discovered that the word you’d placed in your mum’s stocking was “whisper.” And the word in my stocking was “listen.” So for the past couple months, I’ve been listening for the whispers coming from Rajam, and you, since so often she passes her wisdom through you.
And The Well In Another Form Responding
(Photo from Surya Kund, Modhera)
(Photo from Surya Kund, Modhera)
I especially love the translation you gave in your post, that a guru is a person you draw from, as from a well, and a shishya is a student, one who draws. I’ve been drawing from you both since the time when I first met Rajam, in Lakshmi’s temple, not far from our hotel in Kolkata. This is how I described that meeting in my journal, May 9, 2008:
“We were a bit shy to actually enter the temple, a smallish open-air room divided down the middle with a rail to separate men and women, who were seated on large, colorful carpets or chairs; and our shyness was all the greater in our awe at the ornamental beauty of the altar, where life-sized figures of Vishnu and Lakshmi presided. Dressed in breath-taking attire—richly designed robes of metallic-threaded silk, gold, silver, lavender, rose—they seemed to shine with a light of their own; and seldom have I felt such an other-worldly presence.
“Wanting to approach them, we still hesitated; but then a wonderful thing happened. Leon sort of began to mingle with the men, who welcomed him; and while I stayed behind, wondering if my plain western attire (no dress) would be acceptable to the beautifully costumed women, an elderly lady suddenly came toward me, took my hand, and drew me into their midst.
“Dressed in a lovely sheer, gossamer-fine lavender saree, she seemed oddly familiar, small, bent, and smiling, with large ears and a wise face; and then, deeply moved, I realized she was Rajam, and that we had at last met.”
Though she never spoke a word to me, she passed her wisdom to me through her welcoming hand, just as she’s whispered it ever since to me through you. This means that she, and you, have been my guru, my teacher, and I have been your shishya, your student. I especially love it that these roles can be inter-changeable, and that when her well begins to run dry, a teacher can draw from what she’s poured into her student, and replenish her resources once again.
So this is my way of whispering my gratitude back to you both. My life changed completely after my meeting with you, there at Lakshmi’s feet in her temple. I’ve learned so much through the legends and insights and stories you’ve shared. I thank you, and Rajam, and Lakshmi herself, for being the well I can draw from when I need to nurture my spirit!
- Kim Raikes
